Bench vise



sept. 29 1924. 1,509,509

C. L.- GUSTAFSON BENH vIsE Filed May 2, `1922 Bead Guscsso,

Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

UNITE STATESPATENT OFFICE.

cent L. ens'rerson, or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS.

BENCH VISE. l

Application filed May 2,

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that l, CARL L. GUsTArsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State o'l" Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bench Vises, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to cabinet makers benches and has particular reference to the movable sections thereot arranged to serve` either as a. head-vise or a tail-vise, or both when equipped with removable and adjustable pins lco-operating with similar pins in the cabinet makers bench as a vise supporting the work.

For the purpose ot saving time in the operation of the vise it is desirable to provide the vise-screw with a nut or threaded part which may be released from its threaded connection with the screw, at will, and the objects of the present improvement are to provide a releasable nut mechanism which may be applied to existing benches and vise-screws at a comparatively small cost and which willnot require lor the installation any special mechanica-l skill. Another object of this invention is to provide a nutreleasing device which .is adaptable for a divided nut the sections of which are movably away from the screw either singly or together. A still further object of this invention is to effectuate the release of' the screw from the nut without the aid of special lever mechanisms, or which will release automatically when the screw is turned to release the work so that the movable jaw or portion of the vise may be moved slidably independently of the screw in either direc tion.

And with the above named general objects lin view my invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterv referred to in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

ln the drawing- Figure l is a top plan view of a cabinet makers bench equipped with a partly opened vise embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged bottom plan view in elevation ot the vise-portion or corner of the bench shown in Figure l broken away.

Figure 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and enlarged.

Figure 4 is a similar section taken sub- 1922. Serial No. 557,846.

stantially on the line im/l of Figure 2, and Fig. 5 is a. top plan view below line 5 5 of Fig. 4:.

ln the several views 2 represents the cabinet-malrei"s bench a part ot' which may be termed the lined aw of the vise, with its customary movable corner or other movable vise-jaw or portion in the form of a right angle with frame pieces 3 and 4:. The screw 5 is an ordinary vise-screw or a staple article purchasable` everywhere and has the usual hollow head 5 engaged by a turning bar or rod 6. These screws are provided both with and without a washer 6 swiveled on the screw and secured to the vise to prevent longitudinal movement and the present improvement is equally adapted for screws provided with the washer or collar 6 to prevent longitudinal movement as for screws without said collar being provided with means to take its place.

As the movable vise-member, or jaw, 3, 4L is even with the top of the bench 2 it must be provided with a series of plug or stake. holes 7, 7 in either ot' which a pin is placed upright to project above the surface oit' the bench as the grip-portion of the vise. A similar series of holes 8 are provided along the body of the bench 2 to receive pins cooperating with the pins to be inserted in the holes?.

As the present improvement relates principally to means for releasing the screw from its engagement with the nut or section oic nut, the latter is made in two sections 9 and l0 either or both of which may be mounted to spread away from the screw to release its threads with the mechanism hereinafter described for that purpose, but :tor the purpose of the present illustration of my invention only the member 10, or upper section of the nut is threaded and made movable while the member 9 is held stationary and is provided with a smooth section of bore through which the screw moves freely at all times. The iXed member 9 has a flange 11 which is secured by screws 12 to a cross-piece 13 which is immovable relative to the bench 2. On the upper and movable member 10 which has thread sections engageable with the screw, is a flange or plate la in which are elongated holes land 1.6 that are engaged by screws 17 and 18, the heads of which, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, engage the surface of the plate llt and hold it t'or up and down sliding movement against a base or wear plate 14 (Fie. 2). The plainbore and threaded bore nut sections 9 and 10 are normally held pre sed together, or the threads of the member 10 held in engagement with the screw threads, by means of a spring-tensioned bolt 19 which has a head 2O that bears against the lower end of a spring 21 the upper end of which bears against a washer 21 (Fig. 3) which is interposed between the upper end of the spring and the member 9. The upper end of the bolt 19 has threaded engagement with a thumb-nut 22 whereby its tension may be varied as required. 23 represents the plain bore section in the member 9 while 24 indicates the threaded portion of the opening for the screw through 9 and 10. The latter is lifted out of engagement Vwith the screw as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3, as follows. The inner end of the screw is loosely journaled in a bearing-bracket 25 that is suspended from the under-side of the movable vise section of the bench labeled 3 and 4 and secured `thereto by screws 26, or otherwise, which engage screw holes through a. flange or foot portion 27 of said bracket 25. To the screw 5 is keyed or secured by means of set-screws 26 and 27 a member 28 bored to receive the screw and therefore rotatable with the screw. One side of the member 28 is reduced to provide an interlock portion or member 29 which is four-sided or substantially rectangular and arranged to cooperv ate with a lock-member SO which is secured to a flat bar 81 one end of which is journaled at 32 in a bore through the top or lower end Of the bracket 25 immediately above the journal bore for the sc rew 5, while the other end is journaled at 33 in the end frame-piece 4 of the vise. The journal end 32 isheld against longitudinal movement in one direction by a cotter pin 34 or other suitable stop as shown in Figures 2 and 5. It is held against longitudinal movement in the opposite direction, at 33, by a swivel joint connection with a plate 35 secured by screws engaging the frame piece 4.

The lock-member 30 is rotated into its locking position, indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4, by the member 2S, 29 when reverse or unscrewing movement is imparted to thescrew to release work. For this purpose it is provided with a straight edge or side 36 adapted to be engaged by either one of the four sides of the part 29 which sides are Aindicated by the numerals 37, 38, 39, and 40. In the positions in which the parts are shown in the several views the sides 36 and 37 are positioned to abut against each other to the dotted line positions in Figure 4 when the screw 5 is turned to the left. Projecting sideways from the portion 29 are a series of elongated stop lugs indicated in Figures 4 and 5 as 41, 42, 43,

and 44, the first one named (41) being in position to engage a finger or detent 45 that projects from a plate 46 which. is scoured by screws 47 or otherwise to the member 30 in the plane of rotation of the portion 29. The four sides or locking edges of the member or portion 29 are also provided with a series of shallow depressions 4S, 49, 50, and 51 either of which is adapted to be engaged or entered by a rounded corner projection 52 at the end of the locking or straight side 3G of the member 30. A stud or dowel pin 53 is adapted to engage or enter one of a series of holes or pockets 54, 55, 56, and 57 in the edges 37 to 40 whereby the members 29 and 3() are interlocked against relative movement longitudinally of the screw 5, so that when the latter is pushed or pulled in either direction to change the position of the movable vise portion 3, 4 the part 30 and the attachments thereto will be moved as a unit with the screw and the parts to which said screw is attached.

The movable member or jaw of the vise portion 3, 4 has its top or table portion mounted on end frame-rails 57 and 58 connected by rails 59 and G0, the latter being shown secured at their ends by screws 61 and 62. Said movable member is slidable along rails 63 and 64 that are cleats on fixed bench portions including the cross-piece or cleat 13. The rail (i3 is shown secured to 64 by a screw 65 and to 13 bv a screw 61'. For the bar 31 which intersects the cleat 18 a recess 67 is made in the latter to permit turning movement of said bar 31.

In operation the spring 31 norn'lally holds the bar 31 in its horizontal position shown in Figures 3 and 4 which is not disturbed except by a slight oscillating motion when the screw 5 is turned to the right to tighten the vise, due to the linger 45 (Fig. 4) riding` over and slipping by the lugs 41 to 44. As shown in Figure 3 sufficienty play space is left between the bar 31 and the jaw 9 to permit this slight movement of the bar when the screw is` as aforesaid, operating in engagement with its nut. lVhen the movement of the screw is reversed the nearest lug, which in Figure 4 is the lug 41, will engage the finger 4T and depress it, tilting the member 30 to the right while the edge 37 is tilted to the left to meet the edge 36. lhen the edges 3G and 37 have met on the dotted line under the numeral 45 in Figure 4 the two members 28 and 29 will be locked against' further rotation and the bar 31 will have been tilted to its dotted line position, which in Figure 3 shows it having elevated the jaw 10 carrying the screw threads to its dotted line elevation where its threads 24 are above` the threads on the screw The latter will therefore be free and the vise 3. 4 may be moved slidably and quickly in either direction to adjust it to the desired position required by the size of the work to be held between the vise-pins (not shown) in the holes 7 and 8. Then the rotation of the screw is then reversed or turned to the right the member and its bar 3l will be swung back under tension of the spring 31 and the convex sides of' the lugs 41 to 44E will strike the similarly curved under-side of the linger and ride over it after the manner of an ordinary pa-wl and ratchet mechanism. The spring 21 will force the jaw 10, to which the spring 3l is attached, into engagement with the screw when released of the restraint of the interlocking engagement of the members 29 and 30 including the engagement against relative lateral movement of the pin 53 with the socket 54 aided in one direction by the side engagement of the portion 28 which projects beyond the edges of the part 29, as seen in Figs. t and 5.

Having thus described Amy invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination with a cabinetmakers bench of movable screw and visejaws, a bearing-bracket in which the inner end of said screw is journaled, a nut-member movable into and out of engagement with the threads ot the screw, an interlock member keyed to said screw, a nut-releasing device also mounted in said bracket and in the movable jaw and arranged to be engaged by said interlock member to release the nutmember when the screw is turned in one direction.

2. The combination with a screw-vise consisting of a movable and a 'HXed jaw and a screw, of a bracket suspended from the movable jaw and in which said screw is journale-d, an interlock member keyed to said screw, a nut-member normally held in engagement with said screw, a nut-releasing device also journaled in said bracket and in the movable jaw of the vise and adapted to be engaged by said interlock member to disengage the nut-member from the threads of the screw.

3. The combination with `a screw-vise of an interlock-member on the screw, the screw, a movable threaded nut-member normally held in engagement with the threads ol' said screw, a nut-releasing mechanism tobe engaged by said interlock member, and separate bearings for said screw and nut-releasing mechanism, respectively.

t. The combination with a cabinet-makers bench-vise and screw, of an interlock member on the latter, a movable nut-member, a nut-releasing bar paralleling said screw, and a bar-operating mechanism to be moved by said interlock member, and bearings for the latter that are free of the screw.

5. The combination with viseejaws and screw therefor, of an interlock member on the screw, a nut member, means holding the latter normally in engagement with the screw-threads, and a bar mounted free of the screw for releasing said nut member from the screw, said bar being operated by the interlock member when the screw is turned in reverse direction.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

CARL L. GUSTAFSON. 

